Don’t expect original VR content from Netflix anytime soon

Don't expect original VR content from Netflix anytime soon

Somewhat surprisingly, one of the best apps on Samsung's Gear VR is from Netflix. The streaming giant's VR app lets you watch the likes of Daredevil and Jessica Jones in a virtual mansion on a seemingly immense wall-mounted television.

But even though Netflix was quick to board the VR train, don't expect to see any shows designed for VR appear any time soon. In an interview with Mashable France for the launch of Netflix's first French show, Marseilles, CEO Reed Hastings said that VR content just isn't on the radar.

"We're really focused on movies and TV shows and doing more of those, which you can watch in a virtual reality headset if you want to," Hastings said, "but we think most people will watch Netflix on a smartphone or a smart TV."

Doing a full 360

This seems to fly in the face to what Netflix's Vice President of Product Development, Chris Jaffe, told techradar last month,

"VR in the near term might be seen as something for gaming but we're interested too," Jaffe said. "My personal take is I'm interested in seeing where the storytelling aspects develop.

"Of course there's a technical side with technology, but at heart the important thing is the story and my feeling is that it has to lead there. Consumers want stories to be told in various ways."

More likely though, Netflix is looking at VR as a long term plan. With the recent expansion of Netflix Everywhere around the globe, there is a real push for Netflix to begin creating and publishing movies and TV shows to a global audience.

With VR still in its infancy on the hardware side, there's a lot more growth for Netflix in catering to a global audience, rather than the VR niche.

YouTube : youtubeurlv=ZCgvPLAKJ4I








Vodafone rolls out mobile black spot program as 4G network approaches 23 million

Vodafone rolls out mobile black spot program as 4G network approaches 23 million

There's not much worse than a black spot when it comes to mobile phone coverage (except, maybe, a complete network failure).

So Vodafone's announcement today that it is rolling out the first stage of its mobile black spot program is good news.

The program will begin with 70 locations that are notorious black spots for the network, across New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

All 70 sites are due for completion by the end of 2017, which should help dramatically improve overall coverage for the network.

Speaking of coverage, Vodafone was also keen to express its success with 4G coverage, claiming that its LTE network now reaches almost 23 million Australians around the country.

To achieve this feat, the network's entire 850MHz spectrum has been upgraded to 4G, which couples nicely with the 1800MHz spectrum in cities for coverage both indoors and outdoors.

This has also allowed the telco to begin rolling out Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology in major metropolitan areas for users of compatible handsets.










Telstra’s second free data day smashes through mobile data record

Telstra's second free data day smashes through mobile data record

The last time Telstra's network fell over, the telco gave its customers a free day of data, and those customers gobbled up 1,841 terabytes of data.

Following a second major outage last month, Telstra had its second free data day yesterday, and customers took their consumption to another level. According to Telstra, 2,686 terabytes of data was consumed during the second free data day, a 46% increase.

Admittedly, there was an extra hour in there for the eastern states that had daylight savings end, but according to Telstra's statement the previous record was passed at 4pm on Sunday, making it by far the busiest day on the Telstra network.

Despite the heavier download demand, the Telstra network largely survived the day, although this time around there were significantly more noticeable congestion hotspots.

Still, having the equivalent of 3.4 million HD movies downloaded in one day is a pretty impressive feat, even if the reason for it happening was originally a network fault...










Kogan’s latest Agora 6 smartphone is big on features and small on price

Kogan's latest Agora 6 smartphone is big on features and small on price

Kogan has a history of bringing not quite cutting edge, but still solid tech to a budget pricepoint in its smartphones. It's a solid business plan that has worked well for the Aussie company for years, so it's no surprise that the new Agora 6 continues the trend.

At $179, the Agora 6 is a fraction of the price of devices like the Galaxy S7 or the iPhone SE. But somehow you still manage to get a 5-inch IPS LCD screen, a 1.3GHz octo-core processor, 2GB RAM, 4G LTE connectivity and a dual SIM card slot.

There's an 8MP camera in the back and a 5MP camera on the front, and Kogan promises the device is powered by the latest version of Android.

There are a few sacrifices made to hit that price though. First is storage - on board storage is stuck at 16GB. There's a MicroSD card slot, but it will only take up to 32GB, which doesn't give you a huge amount of total space.

The second is battery life. The Agora 6 packs in a 2050mAh battery, which isn't bad, but compared to the 3,000mAh battery in the Galaxy S7, it's nothing to write home about.

But then again, this phone isn't targeting the same market as the latest Samsung flagship. It's purely targeted at the value for money crowd, and from a pure specs to price perspective, it looks like the Kogan Agora 6 might just deliver.










Optus trial sees free 4G hotspots installed in 100 Uber cars

Optus trial sees free 4G hotspots installed in 100 Uber cars

The next time you hop into an Uber in Sydney or Melbourne, you might get to enjoy some free data thanks to a new partnership between the ride-sharing firm and Optus.

Today the two companies announced an exclusive partnership. There's a few different elements to the partnership, but the most interesting one is the fact that the telco has launched a trial that will see 100 cars in Sydney and Melbourne installed with 4G hotspots.

These hotspots will allow up to 10 connections simultaneously, so both drivers and passengers will be able to download a heap of data without chewing into their own personal data allowance.

The announcement is a little vague on how long the trial will last or whether there's plans to extend beyond those 100 cars to the likes of Uber X, but free Wi-Fi is always welcome, regardless.










Google plans to boost iOS search with its own custom keyboard

Google plans to boost iOS search with its own custom keyboard

Google doesn't think iPhone owners use its search offering enough, and so has been developing a custom keyboard that puts Google search front and center for iOS users.

According to The Verge, the keyboard has been in development for months, and will feature a number of functions that can be found on Google's Android keyboard, like gesture typing and direct access to Google search results.

There will also be GIF and picture search options, although unlike the Android keyboard it appears that no voice search option is available.

The goal of the keyboard is to try and boost mobile search results, which are less prevalent compared to desktop searches. And everyone knows that more Google searches means more Google ads, so the strategy here is pretty straightforward.

That said, Google hasn't confirmed if the keyboard is actually destined for a proper release yet.

Via: The Verge










Telstra says sorry for second outage with another free data day

Telstra says sorry for second outage with another free data day

Telstra customers were last night experience a strange sense of deja vu when the network's mobile and data services stopped working.

Telstra hasn't confirmed what caused the issue in the first place, but said the load of millions of devices trying to automatically reconnect simultaneously caused significant congestion that only exacerbated the problem.

Services were fairly quickly restored, but just like the last outage, Telstra has promised to try and make things right with its customers by offering another free data day.

On Sunday, April 3, Telstra customers will get unlimited data, regardless of their plan. The last time the network did this it turned into a significant PR win, and also the telco's busiest day ever.

In any case, Telstra has proclaimed that it is working hard to understand how it can improve its network to avoid the same challenges from arising in the future.










Australia’s Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge plans compared

Australia's Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge plans compared

Telstra and Optus plans

Fresh off its official unveil at Mobile World Congress this week, Samsung's 2016 flagship phones, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, are set to hit the Australian wild on March 11.

And now, all of the country's leading telcos have announced the different plans they are offering for each of the devices.

The good news is that there are plenty of options for customers hoping to pick up either member of the S7 family on a contract. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile all have their own plans built around the handsets.

Of course, if you prefer to own your phone outright, you can grab the Galaxy S7 for $1,149 while the S7 Edge will set you back $1,249.

And don't forget, if you pre-order your Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge early enough, you'll get a bonus Gear VR thrown in.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Telstra plans

As always, you'll pay a premium to pick up the Samsung handsets through Telstra, but there are certain advantages. For a start, you'll get to enjoy the Cat 9 speeds the Galaxy S7 and Telstra's network can provide, with theoretical download speeds up to 450Mbps.

Telstra's plans for the Galaxy S7 start at $79 a month, including 1GB of data and $550 worth of talk and text.

$84 a month brings $1000 of talk and text plus 2.5GB, and if you want unlimited phone calls, you can get the $99 a month plan that also delivers 6GB of data.

For the truly data hungry, the $135 XL plan has 15GB to use each month with unlimited talk and text.

The S7 Edge is available on the same collection of plans, although with an ever so slightly increased monthly repayment.

So the 1GB plan will set you back $86 a month, the 2.5GB jumps to $91, the 6GB plan costs $105 and the 15GB offering costs $141 a month.

Galaxy S7 plans

Optus plans

If you prefer your plans to include unlimited talk and text regardless of the data allowance, Optus has got you covered.

Pricing for the Galaxy S7 starts at $64 a month on Optus, which has the unlimited talk and text but only includes 500MB of data.

$76 a month increases the data allowance to 3GB and includes 150 international minutes, but if you move up to the $85 offering you'll get 8GB (6GB plus 2GB bonus) and 300 international minutes.

If that's not enough, $100 a month jumps the data to 12GB a month (10GB plus 2GB bonus), and 400 international minutes.

But you probably won't want to pick up that last plan, given Optus is offering a discounted version of its $130 plan for the exact same price of $100 a month, which boosts data to 18GB, offers unlimited international calls and up to 10 days of Optus travel packs.

For the S7 Edge, the plans are the same though the handset repayments are a bit higher. So plans start at $71 a month for 500MB of data, jump to $83 for the 3GB plan, grow to $92 for 8GB (6GB plus 2GB bonus), and $104 a month for 12GB (10GB plus 2GB bonus).

Bizarrely, Optus is offering the $130 plan for the S7 Edge with $30 off, so you can grab the curved phone on a 18GB plan for less than the $100 plan, which has a $4 a month handset repayment.

Vodafone and Virgin plans

Galaxy S7 plans

Vodafone plans

Vodafone's $5 a day roaming charge makes it a very enticing choice for frequent international travellers. You'll also get unlimited talk and text across all plans.

Pricing for the Galaxy S7 start at $75 for 500MB a month. That would be a crazy decision though, as the next plan up offers 3GB for $80 a month. But even crazier is that the next plan up from that, which includes 6GB of data, only costs $77 a month.

$88 a month will deliver 8GB of data (6GB plus 2GB bonus), $105 brings 12GB (10GB plus 2GB bonus) while the top of the line plan has 20GB for $130.

As with the other carriers, the S7 Edge has a slight price premium on the handset repayments, so 500MB costs $83, and 3GB jumps to $95. Just like the S7 plans though, the 6GB option is cheaper than 3GB at $90 a month, or you can get 8GB for $95.

12GB will set you back $111 each month, while the curved screen phone with 20GB a month will set you back $133 each month.

Plus, you can claim some bonus Qantas frequent flyer points on the 8GB, 12GB and 20GB plans.

Galaxy S7 plans

Virgin Mobile plans

The budget Optus telco also has a full suite of plans for the Galaxy S7 family, with the cheapest plans on offer (although also with the lowest data inclusions on the low price tier).

For $60 a month for the Galaxy S7 or $65 for the S7 Edge, you get 300MB of data and $300 worth of talk and text.

$65 (or $70 for an Edge) will bump up bundled talk and text to Unlimited, while included data jumps to 1.1GB (500MB plus 600MB bonus).

$70 ($75 for the Edge) pushes the data allowance up to 1GB, though you'll get a bonus 1GB for the first 3 months.

The next level sees the Galaxy S7 cost $75 a month ($80 for the Edge) with 3GB of data (plus a bonus 1GB and an extra 3GB for the first 3 months).

You'll get 6GB (plus 2GB and a bonus 6GB for three months) on the $85 plan for the Galaxy S7 (or $91 for the Edge), while the $100 plan for the S7 gives 10GB (plus 3GB bonus and an extra 10GB for the first 3 months) of data (and the Edge plan costs $104 a month).

For $130 a month, you can get either phone thrown in the plan, and have a whopping 15GB plus 6GB bonus included and an extra 15GB for the first three months.

For all those plans, you will need to either get a new number or upgrade or switch to the Optus network to get the bonus data figures, though.










Optus feels the need for 4.5G speed, takes a Huawei to the danger-zone

Optus feels the need for 4.5G speed, takes a Huawei to the danger-zone

The best Australian 4G networks have all invested pretty heavily in delivering the best possible speeds for customers, but the race to 5G is starting to heat up.

While 5G is expected to arrive by 2020, Optus and Huawei have just announced a successful trial of LTE-Advanced Pro, or 4.5G, at its Gigasite in Newcastle.

By using a combination of technologies, the telco was able to achieve a peak download speed of 1.23Gbps in live network conditions. The theoretical top speed of the technology is 1.43Gbps.

Superspeed

There's no firm date for when customers will be able to enjoy the kinds of speeds that Optus has achieved during this trial, but Optus has told us it is aiming to launch 4.5G in the second half of the year as devices become available.

Last year, Telstra conducted a similar trial, achieving speeds beyond 1Gbps with the use of carrier aggregation.

The technologies used to achieve the speeds here – which include 100MHz (5 x 20MHz) Carrier Aggregation, Higher Level Modulation, and 4X4 MIMO – should all translate to the eventual rollout of 5G.

It should also enable 2K video streaming, which could potentially be useful for Optus' content plans around sports like the EPL.










Google Casts its new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio to Australia today

Google Casts its new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio to Australia today

The superb Google Chromecast may have launched last year for other western countries, but Australia was left wondering when their wireless disc streamer would arrive down under.

As of today, there's no more need to wonder, with Google officially launching both the Chromecast and its sound-only brother, Chromecast Audio, both online and in retailers today.

Both devices will retail for $59, a $10 premium over the original 2013 Chromecast's RRP. Of course, that particular device often ended up costing much less, so expect to see similar discounts on the newer model too.

You can pick up the new Chromecast from JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, Bing Lee or the Google Play store, while Chromecast Audio is only available at JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Google's store.

  • Sure, it's available, but is the Google Chromecast worth buying? Read our Chromecast review to find out.









Aussies double down on Telstra’s free data offer

Aussies double down on Telstra's free data offer

Telstra felt really bad for the network outages that plagued its mobile customers last week, so it decided to give all its customers unmetered data for a day. Now that day is done, and Telstra has given us an insight into just how much data was pushed through its tubes. Spoiler: It's a lot.

In a post on its Exchange blog, Telstra's group managing director of Networks, Mike Wright, explained that from the moment the clock struck midnight on Sunday, Telstra's services were hit by increased demand. By 8am, it had hit peak weekday levels, and continued to climb from there.

Over the course of the day, over 1,841 terabytes of data was downloaded across Telstra's mobile customer base, which included pre-and-post-paid customers, business customers, mobile internet and Boost retail customers.

Downloading concerns

That figure apparently represents double the normal Sunday traffic experienced on the Telstra network. The unmetered data initiative survived the load, which is almost definitely what Telstra wanted to show customers.

Given that Telstra charges a premium for its network, it needed to come out swinging following the outage last week. What better way to do that than by showing that even when your entire customer base is downloading whatever they want for free, your network handles the load without issue?

With little effect on overall speed around the country, Telstra will no doubt be considering this exercise a resounding success.










Kogan Mobile gets a 70 per cent price cut

Kogan Mobile gets a 70 per cent price cut

Kogan Mobile may have risen from the dead last year when it partnered with Vodafone, but the network isn't sitting idle.

Up until the end of March, the carrier has slashed the price of its monthly data plans by 70 per cent, making it one of the cheapest offerings on the market.

The Kogan Mobile 3XL recharge, which features 3GB of data alongside unlimited talk and text, has dropped from $29.90 for 30 days to $8.95.

Similarly, the 5XL recharge (which comes with 5GB of data) has dropped from $36.90 to just $10.95.

Would you like a SIM with that?

You will need a Kogan SIM card to get on board these savings, which will set you back an addition $4.95.

The deal is set to run until the end of March, although there is the possibility of it being extended according to the fine print. That means you should be able to get a couple of months of Kogan Mobile service at this price point.

The Kogan Mobile network runs on Vodafone's 3G network, so if you absolutely require 4G speeds, this probably isn't the deal for you.










Virgin ups data to 12GB a month on its $50 plan

Virgin ups data to 12GB a month on its $50 plan

It wasn't that long ago that finding mobile plans that weren't ridiculously stingey with data allowances was nigh on impossible. Today though, data is becoming more and more available.

Virgin Mobile, for example, has just announced it's offering a whopping 12GB of data on its $50 a month plan. That's 8GB more than what was previously offered for the same amount.

The catch – and there's always a catch – is that the offer is only available to customers switching to the Optus network, or upgrading a Virgin Mobile contract.

That means Optus customers need not apply. The offer is also only available to customers signing up before March 31, so don't expect the humungous data allowances to stick around.

You'll also need to bring your own phone, though with the best phones in the world all set for an update in the not too distant future, finding an outright bargain at the moment wouldn't be too challenging.

Still, if you do manage to sign up, there are some pretty sweet incentives thrown in. Like other Virgin plans, you can rollover unused data, calls and text each month (although given there's unlimited talk and text included, that's not as useful).

There's also no lock-in contract, which is welcome news for those who like to live month-to-month.










Telstra apologises for outage with unlimited mobile data this Sunday

Telstra apologises for outage with unlimited mobile data this Sunday

Telstra charges a premium for its mobile network, so when things go wrong and the service goes down, customers understandably get upset.

The good news is that Telstra is planning on making it up to its customers by offering a day of unlimited data this Sunday, Feb 14.

Customers don't need to do anything special to get the data – it will happen automatically for all Telstra Mobile Customers.

Erode the node

The error itself has also been explained. In a post on its Exchange blog, Telstra Operations COO Kate McKenzie explained that the error was caused by proper procedures not being followed.

"Our mobile network is set up with a number of major connection points (what we call nodes) around the country, which our customers connect to. These nodes are the equipment that essentially manage the flow of voice and data traffic across our mobile network," the post explains.

Ultimately, there was a fault at a node, and when it was taken offline to fix, the proper processes weren't followed to ensure services continued properly.

"Unfortunately on this occasion the right procedures were not followed and this resulted in customers being disconnected and consequent heavy congestion on other nodes as customers attempted to reconnect to the network," McKenzie explained.










1Password gives Android users the power of the finger

1Password gives Android users the power of the finger

TouchID on the iPhone 6S may have standardised the mobile fingerprint scanner, but over the past 12 months, flagship devices like the Nexus 6P and Sony Xperia Z5 Ultra have made an integrated digit scanner standard.

And as of today, all those fingerprint scanners just got significantly more useful, with the Android version of 1Password receiving an update that includes support for fingerprint unlocking the app.

There's a slight catch – it will only work with Marshmallow's integrated fingerprint support, so if your device is running a previous version of Android you are all out of luck.

Designer fingers

It's not just your digits getting some loving from the update – the whole design has received a makeover, falling into line with Android's Material Design philosophy.

The app is free to download (and you should, given it's easily on our list of the best password manager apps), although you may need to pay a bit for the premium features.